Apparatus for dispensing money orders

ABSTRACT

A two-part money order dispenser for printing alphanumeric indicia on preprinted money order forms includes a terminal having a keyboard for operating the dispenser and a card swipe device for reading information from a magnetic card packaged with a bundle of blank preprinted money order forms for automatic entry of the forms-related information into a memory associated with the terminal when loading the forms into the dispenser. A printer having a memory association therewith is connected to the terminal for communicating with the terminal information allowing access to the printer through an encrypted password and communication of information necessary for printing money orders. Bit-mapped graphical and alphanumeric information routinely printed is stored within the printer. Multilevel security codes having definable privileges associated therewith, a program generated security font, and a blank form retraction feature provided security against altered or counterfeit money orders. The configuration of the two-part dispenser further allows efficient utilization of limited or crowded counter space. The printer of the dispenser has an L-shaped configuration to facilitate its mounting at any convenient location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.07/959,322, entitled APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING MONEY ORDERS, filed Oct.9, 1992, now abandoned. This parent application is hereby incorporatedby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to apparatus for dispensingnegotiable instruments, and more particularly to a two-part money orderdispenser having a control terminal and a secured printer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Money orders are a well-known medium of exchange. The inefficiency andease of producing counterfeit money orders associated with manual moneyorder dispensers resulted in the fairly recent development of automaticmoney order dispensers having increased security and efficiency. Theterm "money order" will be used in this application to include othernegotiable instruments. Although comprising substantial improvementsover manual money order dispensing systems, prior art automatic moneyorder dispensers have been bulky, have printed slowly, have beendifficult to reload with blank money order forms, have provided limitedsecurity against counterfeiting, and have failed to interface withexisting computer and point of sale equipment of the money order agent.

Agents who are authorized by an issuer, i.e., the payor of theinstrument, to issue money orders may consist of any of a number ofdifferent types of outlets such as convenience stores, check cashingagencies, grocery stores, financial institutions, or any of a number ofother retail or financial outlets. In many agent locations there isinsufficient counter space to accommodate a keyboard with a connectedprinter in one location on the counter. Thus, prior art automatic moneyorder dispensers have not been suited for adaptable positioning inlimited space areas.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a quick two-part money orderdispenser having separate keyboard and printing units for adaptablepositioning on, above, or under limited counter space, to provideincreased security against possible counterfeiting, and to increasecompatibility with existing computer and point of sale equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a two-part money order dispenser whichprovides quick, more convenient, secure, and efficient issuance of moneyorders. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a control terminalis connected to a separate printer for communication of an encryptedpassword message to the printer signaling the performance of analgorithm generating the password thereby allowing the printer to printa money order. Blank money order forms packaged in bundles of apredetermined number of fan folded forms are stored in the printer. Anassociated magnetic card containing information relating to size of themoney order forms, the number of forms in the bundle, and the serialnumbers of the forms is read by a card swipe device connected forcommunication with the terminal to facilitate simplified loading of themoney order forms and serial number information.

A memory associated with the terminal stores multiple levels of securitycodes with each level having a different group of associated useprivileges, thereby increasing security against the issuance ofcounterfeit money orders. A plurality of vendor names may be stored inthe memory associated with the terminal for printing a vendor's name ina payee line on the money order from when vendor payments are made usingmoney orders as the method of payment. Thus, when the vendor's name isprinted on the money order, a driver or representative of the vendorwill not be able to negotiate the money order.

To further avoid counterfeiting or altering of the money orders, aspecial program generated security font for printing the numericalindicia representing the dollar amount of the money order includesdiagonal lineation between asterisks used as fill space when the moneyorder is for smaller dollar amounts. The font also includes a "$" signwhich is defined as an unprinted portion of the money order formsurrounded by a printed background, whereas the numerical indicia isdefined by a printed character on the unprinted background. Diagonallineation appears between the "$" sign and numerical charactersrepresenting the dollar amount and between the individual numericalcharacters representing the dollar amount. Vertically printedabbreviations of the words "dollars" and "cents" further reduce the riskof alteration of the printed amount of the money order.

For increased printing speed, a memory associated with the printerincludes stored bit-mapped print masking information. The bit maps arelong strings of data used by the printer to print graphical andalphanumeric information routinely used on the money order. Thisgraphical and alphanumeric information includes agent and/or vendorlogos and identification information, the security fonts previouslydescribed and other ultimately printed information traditionally sentfrom the terminal to a printer during each transaction. By storing thisinformation in the printer instead of the control terminal, the presentinvention requires that only the character representation of theinformation to be printed be sent from the terminal to the printerduring a transaction, significantly decreasing the printing time of thedispenser and enhancing the security of the printing process.Traditionally, both the print masking information and the characterrepresentation was sent from the terminal to the printer before printingcould begin.

For added security, the printer retracts blank money order forms intothe printer housing when printing is not occurring, such that a moneyorder cannot be grasped and pulled from the printer. The money orderforms are held in the retracted position when the power to the printeris turned off.

A particular issuing location may be readily identified by the printingof an agent's logo on the money order form. The logo is downloaded intothe memory associated with the terminal and downloaded from the terminalmemory to the memory associated with the printer where it is stored forall subsequent print requests.

The two-part configuration of the money order dispenser allows theterminal to be positioned for easy access on crowded counter space forentering the data necessary for the printing of a money order. Theprinter may be positioned in a location remote from the terminal. Thehousing of the printer has an angled, generally L-shaped configurationallowing the printer to be easily mounted under a counter, to besupported on top of and extend over the edge of a counter or anotherobject on the counter, or to be positioned fully on the counter, therebycreating a diagonally sloped surface from which the money order isemitted.

The two-part configuration of the money order dispenser allows forconnection of the printer directly to a point of sale device, either inconjunction with or separately from the control terminal, to allowprinting instructions to be received by the printer directly from thepoint of sale device. The two-part configuration further allowsconnection for communication between the control terminal and theagent's computer system for interrogating the money order dispenser andprinting of reports. A journal printer may be connected to the controlterminal for printing sale reports, and a printer may be connected to aplurality of terminals to allow the issuance of money orders by morethan one dispenser operator in more than one location. Thus, thetwo-part configuration allows existing computer and point of saleequipment to be utilized with the printer in printing money order formsand reports. Reports may be generated by the control terminal andprinted on void money order forms by the printer, by a journal printerconnected to the control terminal, or on a printer associated with theagent's computer or point of sale device.

The two-part configuration of the money order dispenser allows for moreadaptive use of existing equipment, and limited or crowded space in theagent's location. The multiple security levels and associatedprivileges, as well as the security print font and money order formretraction feature increase the security associated with the issuance ofmoney orders. The use of a magnetic card and card swipe device for rapidinput of information relating to prepackaged bundles of blank moneyorder forms facilitate efficient loading of forms into the printer.

Associated with the terminal is a time and attendance feature whichallows the terminal to track time periods for multiple events. Thefeature is used, in effect, as a time clock for employees. Employees"log in" to the terminal at the beginning of a shift and "log out" ofthe terminal at the conclusion of that shift. The employees might alsolog in and out of the terminal for "breaks" or other interruptions intheir shift. Employees input data such as an employee number or passwordand the terminal uses an internal clock to mark, record and track thetimes. Employee information input can be accomplished by utilizingeither the keyboard associated with the terminal or the card swipefeature described above. Using this latter feature, employees carryemployee cards containing their employee information. An employee logsin or out by swiping the card through the card reader located on theterminal.

The shift and other information stored for each employee can be gatheredand accessed locally or gathered remotely and placed in the form of areport to be circulated to the agent, depending on the installation.

Thus, the various advantages of the present invention result in aquicker, more convenient, secure, and efficient dispenser for issuingnegotiable instruments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following DetailedDescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the two-part money order dispenser of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a money order dispenser systemconfiguration incorporating the two-part money order dispenser of FIG. 1connected for communication with a remote computer, journal printer, andoptional connection to an additional terminal and agent's computer;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system configuration incorporating aprinter of the present invention connected for communication directlywith a point of sale device;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system configuration incorporating atwo-part money order dispenser connected to a point of sale terminal;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the printer portion of the money orderdispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a bundle of fan folded money order formspackaged with an associated magnetic card in shrink wrapped packaging;

FIG. 7 is a partially broken away side view of the printer of FIG. 1illustrating the retraction of the next sequential money order form whenthe printer is not printing or the printer is in a power-off state;

FIG. 8 is a top view of a money order form illustrating the printing ofthe "dollar" and "cent" amount using the security font;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the back side of a series of blank money orderforms illustrating the placement of timing marks on the back of everyfourth money order form;

FIG. 10 is a top view of a printed money order form illustrating theprinting of a logo and vendor's name and the payee blank on thepreprinted form;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the printer and terminal of FIG. 1illustrating positioning of the printer to be supported on and extendover the edge of a countertop;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the printer and terminal of FIG. 1 showingpositioning of the printer under a counter ledge;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the printer and terminal of FIG. 1illustrating the positioning of the printer over an object on thecounter top; and

FIG. 14 is a side view of the printer of FIG. 1 illustrating thepositioning of the printer on top of the counter to provide a diagonallysloped money order emitting surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the Drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof,there is shown a money order dispenser 10 incorporating the two-partmoney order dispenser of the present invention. A control terminal 12has a keyboard 14 for operation of the money order dispenser 10 forissuing money orders, issuing alternate documents, printing reports, andother activities associated with the issuance of money orders. A display16 provides a visual display of certain data entered through thekeyboard, error flags, messages, and other information relevant to theoperation of the dispenser. As is shown in FIG. 2, the program foroperating the terminal 12 is stored in memory 18 associated with thecontrol terminal 12. Transaction data, security codes, reports generatedbased upon the transaction data and various security codes entered arestored in the memory 18. The control terminal 12 is connected forcommunication with a printer 20 for printing money orders, and alternatedocuments such as gift certificates and vendor payments.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the money order dispensers areplaced in the agent's premises and are connected via telecommunicationssystems to the issuer's host computer 48. In many cases, an agentauthorized by the issuer to issue money orders may own several stores orpremises, each having a separate money order dispenser 10. In suchcases, in addition to being connected to the host computer 48, the moneyorder dispensers 10 may be connected to the agent's computer 42 at aremote location from the various store premises, or to multipleterminals 44, as shown in FIG. 2. In the instances wherein the moneyorder dispenser 10 is installed in a convenience store, a grocery store,or some other location utilizing point of sale equipment, the dispensermay be connected for communication with the point of sale device 60, asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The dispenser may be connected for communicationbetween the point of sale device 60 and both the terminal 12 and printer20, or may be connected for communication directly with the printer 20alone, as shown in FIG. 3.

Access to the printer 20 requires communication of an encrypted passwordbased upon the serial number of the printer 20. The encrypted passwordis communicated from the control terminal 12 to the printer 20 and adecrypting algorithm is performed to produce the password allowingaccess to the printer 20 for printing a document. The password test isset out below:

The Password is a 12 digit number derived from the Print Unit SerialNumber.

Method of encryption: ADD-SWAP-ADD

SN+Constant No. (1) swap+Constant No. (2)=Password

    ______________________________________                                        1.     Add Constant number - 675901108768 (ignore carry)                      2.     Swap digits -                                                                            B,6                                                                           A,7    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B                                                9,5    0 = Most significant number                                            8,2                                                                           4,1                                                                           9,0                                                                           8,3                                                                           B,1                                                         3.     Add Constant number - 508424383486 (ignore carry)                      ______________________________________                                    

Method of Decryption: SUB-Reverse SWAP-SUB

Password-Constant No. (2) reverse Swap-Constant No. (1)=SN

    ______________________________________                                        1.        Subtract Constant number 508424383486                                         (borrow as needed)                                                  2.        Swap digits -                                                                            B,1                                                                           8,3                                                                           9,0                                                                           4,1                                                                           8,2                                                                           9,5                                                                           A,7                                                                           B,6                                                      3.        Subtract Constant number 675901108768                                         (borrow as needed)                                                  ______________________________________                                    

The password for accessing the printer 20 prevents the printer 20 frombeing removed from the money order agent's premises and being connectedto an unauthorized computer terminal for printing of counterfeit moneyorders.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 5, the printer 20 is contained within ahousing 22 wherein blank money order forms 24 (shown in FIG. 6) arestored in fan fold form. The housing is configured to have asubstantially square body portion 26 and a face portion 28 mounted tothe body portion 26 and extending downwardly therefrom to form anangled, generally L-shaped housing. As the money order forms 24 are fedthrough the printer 20, they exist the housing 22 through a print feedslot 30 extending transversely across the face portion 28 of the housing22. As shown in FIG. 7, a feed mechanism 32 feeds the money order forms24 through the feed slot 30 in the direction indicated by arrows 31 and33 as they are printed, and retracts the next successive blank moneyorder form in the direction shown by arrows 35 and 37 upon completion ofthe printing process. The money order forms 24 remain retracted when theprinter 20 experiences a power-off condition. Thus, a blank money orderform 24 is prevented from being grasped and withdrawn from the dispenserprinter 20, thereby reducing the risk of production of counterfeit moneyorders.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, the blank money order forms 24 have aserial number 34 printed along a leading edge 36 of the form 24. Atiming mark 38 is placed on the back of each money order form 24 fallingin a predetermined numbered sequence in the fan folded bundle 50 ofmoney order forms 24. The corresponding serial number 34 of theparticular money order form bearing the timing mark must be evenlydevisable by the number of the position location of the form in thebundle. In other words, if the timing mark 38 appears on every fourthmoney order form, the serial number 34 of the fourth money order formshould be devisable by four. When the mark 38 is sensed by a sensingmechanism contained within the printer 20, the serial number 34 is readand a determination made whether it is devisable by the appropriatenumber. If not, printing of the money order will not occur and thesequence and alignment of the money order forms 24 must be checked bythe operator of the dispenser 10. Thus, the timing marks 38 prevent theunauthorized removal of a blank money order form, which would result inan out of sequence serial number 34.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the blank money order forms 24 are packaged infan folded bundles 50 containing a predetermined number of blank forms24. A magnetic card 52 encoded with information such as the size of themoney order forms, which may come in six or eight inch lengths, thenumber of forms in the bundle 50, and the serial numbers 34 of the forms24 contained in the bundles 50 is packaged with each bundle 50. Thebundles 50 may be packaged in any conventional packaging such as shrinkwrap 54 as shown in FIG. 6.

For ease in loading the money order forms 24 into the housing 22 of theprinter 20, the magnetic card 52 is passed through a card swipe device56 connected to the control terminal 12. The card swipe device 56 readsthe encoded information relating to the bundle 50 of money order forms24, automatically entering the serial numbers 34 of the forms 24 intothe memory 18 associated with the control terminal 12. Thus, the cardswipe feature allows simplified reloading of money order forms 24 andalleviates the need of manual entry of the first and last serial numbers34 in a series of blank forms 24, as has been required in priorautomation money order dispensers.

Most money order agents work with vendors who provide goods and servicesto the agent on a regular basis. Oftentimes for convenience andaccounting purposes, vendor payments will be made with money orders.When a typical money order is purchased it is printed with a "dollar"amount and the payee line is left blank to be filled in by thepurchaser. In the case of vendor payments, a blank payee line couldresult in the unauthorized negotiation of the money order by thevendor's representative. To prevent such unauthorized negotiation aplurality of vendor names may be stored in the memory 18 associated withthe terminal 12. Thus, when a money order is issued for a vendorpayment, the appropriately coded vendor name is downloaded to the memory40 associated with the printer 20 and is printed on the payee line 80 onthe blank money order form 24, as shown in FIG. 9.

The memory 40 associated with the printer 20 includes bit-mapped printermask information comprising vendor and agent logos and information andother graphical and alphanumeric information routinely printed. Sincesuch bit-mapped information is stored within the memory 40 of theprinter 20, only the character representation of the alphanumericinformation to be printed must be sent from the terminal 12 to theprinter 20 during a transaction, significantly decreasing the printingtime of the dispenser as compared with traditional dispensers.

As a further security measure, the numeric amount 82 of the money orderis printed on the form 24 in a specially programmed security font 100 asshown in FIG. 8. The font 100 includes diagonal lineations 102 betweenasterisks 104 used to fill space not occupied by numerals representingdollar amounts. The diagonal lineations 102 also extend between the lastappearing spacing asterisk 104 and a negatively printed "$" 106 which isdefined not by printing the "$" 106 but by printing the backgroundsurrounding the "$" 106. Thus, where the other printed indicia appearsdark on a light background the "$" 106 appears light on a darkbackground immediately surrounding the "$" 106.

Diagonal lineation 102 separates the "$" 106 from the first numeral 108of the dollar amount. The last numeral 108 of the dollar amount and thefirst numeral 110 representing the amount in cents is separated by avertically printed abbreviation 112 of the word "dollars". The numerals110 representing the amount in cents are approximately half the heightof the numerals 108 representing the dollar amounts. Diagonal lineations102 separate the numerals 110 representing the amount in cents and thearea immediately below each of the numerals 110 representing the amountin cents. Immediately following the last numeral 110 in the cent amountis a vertically printed abbreviation 114 of the word "cents". Thevarious characters and configuration of the security font 100 are verydifficult, if not impossible, to alter, thereby substantially reducingthe risk of alteration of the dollar amount printed on the form.

Referring now to FIG. 9, in the event a particular agent wishes to printits logo 140 on the money order form 24, the logo 140 is downloaded fromthe host or agent computer to the control terminal 12, which in turndownloads the logo 140 to the memory 40 associated with printer 20 forprinting on the money order form 24. Following the initial download tothe memory 40 the logo resides in the memory 40 indefinitely. There isno need to transmit the logo or other routinely printed graphical oralphanumeric information during each transaction. This featuresignificantly decreases the printing time of the dispenser.

For purposes of internal control and operator security, the controlterminal 12 and printer 20 are controlled and the memories 18 and 40associated therewith may be reprogrammed at varying security levels.Many of the functions and operations of the money order dispenser 10 maybe reprogrammed and controlled only from the host computer 48. A hostsecurity code which is contained within the operating program stored inthe memory 18 associated with the control terminal 12 must be enteredfrom the host computer 48 to perform functions flagged with a host levelsecurity code.

Various other functions may be performed and fields reprogrammed throughuse of an agent security code. As the security risk lessens, or theparticular need to access a function becomes user specific, the securitycode required to access the particular function will vary. Thus, thereare five levels of security codes, with various privileges assigned eachsecurity level as defined within the operating program contained in thememory of the control terminal 12.

The five security code levels include the host level, which may beaccessed only by the host computer 48; the agent level, which may beaccessed by the agent through the agent's computer 42, and in mostsituations the host computer 48; the store level which may be accessedthrough the keyboard 14 at the particular store location and which mayin most cases be accessed through the agent and host level securitycodes. In addition to the store security code, a manager security codeallows access to various functions and programmable fields through thekeyboard 14 of the control terminal 12 in each particular store. Themanager's security code is limited, however, to that particular store.The fifth level of security code is the employee level having associatedtherewith the fewest number of privileges necessary for printing moneyorders.

The privileges associated with each security code level may bereprogrammed at varying levels of security, as defined in the programoperating the control terminal 12. By way of example, an employee mustenter an employee's security code before a money order will print. Inthe event an amount is entered into the control terminal 12 whichexceeds a maximum transaction dollar limit for that particular location,a manager code must be entered to allow printing of the money order. Adaily total dollar amount limit may only be reset at the host securitylevel. Host phone numbers stored in the system which are used to dialthe host computer to upload information to the host computer may bechanged by host, agent, or at the store security level through thekeyboard. Thus, the multilevel security codes further insure security ofthe money order dispenser 10 against tampering and issuance ofcounterfeit money orders.

The physical configuration of the two-part money order dispenser 10allows for a variety of placements and positioning of the controlterminal 12 and printer 20 at the agent's premises. Thus, where there islimited or crowded counter space, the printer 20 and control terminal 12may be stacked as shown in FIG. 11. Where counter space is limited, theprinter 20 may be supported by a bracket 150 mounted to the underside ofa desk or counter top 152 or suspended from an overhead shelf, as shownin FIG. 12. Likewise, the printer may be stacked on top of other itemssupported on the counter top 152 as shown in FIG. 13. The printer may beplaced entirely on the counter top 152 as shown in FIG. 14 where adiagonally slopped money order writing surface is desired.

In addition to allowing for efficient space utilization, the two-partconfiguration of the money order dispenser 10 allows the terminal 12 tobe maintained close to the employee, which is often close to theconsumer or public. The printer 20, however, may be placed at a distanceaway from the consumer or public, to prevent unauthorized removal of aprinted money order from the printer 20.

Associated with the memory 18 of the terminal 12 is a time andattendance feature. This feature allows the agent to record and trackthe time employees are working. Employees input employee data such as aemployee number or password, either via the keyboard 14 or the cardswipe device 56, at the beginning and ending of their shifts. Employeesmight also "log in" and "log out" during "breaks" or other interruptionsof their shift. Using an internal clock associated with the memory 18 ofthe terminal 12, the terminal 12 tracks and records these events. Thememory 18 of the terminal 12 allows for multiple employees to be trackedsimultaneously. The tracked employee information is accessible eitherlocally by the agent or is gathered remotely and provided to the agentin the forth of a report or raw data. This feature provides yet anadditional level of security in that it provides the agent with specificinformation as to the times a particular employee was working, andtherefore had access to, and control over, the dispenser.

Thus, the advantages of the money order dispenser of the presentinvention include the faster printing speed due to the bit-mappedinformation being stored in the printer 20, the enhanced securityfeatures of the multilevel security codes allowing varying levels ofaccess depending upon the security level of the user, the security fontwhich deters alteration of the dollar amount printed on the form, theencrypted password which prevents use of the printer 20 from anunauthorized computer, the physical retraction of the money order forms24 into the housing 22 when a money order is not being printed, thetiming marks 38 evidencing an out of sequence serial number 34, and thetime and attendance feature providing the agent with detailedinformation regarding employee work events. The convenience of thedispenser 10 is increased by the interface of one or both parts of themoney order dispenser 10 with existing point of sale equipment 60, agentcomputer systems 42, and multiple terminals 44 in a single location, aswell as the physical convenience of space utilization afforded by theconfiguration of the printer housing 22 and the separation of theprinter 20 and terminal 12 into two-parts. The card swipe device 56provides easy and quick input of data and the timing marks 38 increasethe efficiency of loading and printing money order forms 24. Thus, themoney order dispenser 10 of the present invention provides a physicallyand functionally convenient method of dispensing money orders withoptimal security and efficiency.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention has beenillustrated in the accompanying Drawings and described in the foregoingDetailed Description, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat various modifications and rearrangements of the component parts andelements of the present invention are possible within the scope of thepresent invention.

We claim:
 1. A dispenser for issuing negotiable instruments comprising:acontrol terminal; a keyboard connected to the control terminal forentering data and operating the control terminal; memory meansassociated with the control terminal for storing control programs,control data, multiple level security codes having associated privilegesat different security levels, and transaction data; a printer forprinting alphanumeric indicia on preprinted money order forms; memorymeans associated with the printer for storing printer control programs,bit-mapped printer mask information, print instructions received fromthe control terminal and transaction data; means connecting the terminalto the printer for communicating print instructions from the controlterminal and for communicating an encrypted message instructing that analgorithm be performed to issue a password signalling the printer toproceed with the printing of a document; means connected to the controlterminal for reading a magnetically encoded card for automaticallyentering information into the control terminal relating to the number ofmoney order forms, size of form, and serial numbers of a specific seriesof blank money order forms being loaded into the printer; retractionmeans for retracting unprinted money order forms for preventing removalof money order forms from the printer when not printing; sensor means inthe printer for detecting timing marks printed on the back of moneyorder forms at predetermined spaced apart intervals in a series of blankmoney order forms for insuring alignment and serial number sequencing ofthe next available form before printing and for determining the size ofthe forms being printed; timing means within the control terminal formarking events in response to data imputed into the control terminal;tracking and recording means within the control terminal for trackingand recording events marked by the timing means; and printer housinghaving an angled configuration for adaptive positioning in relation tolimited availability of a supporting surface.
 2. The money orderdispenser of claim 1, wherein the timing means within the controlterminal comprises a clock.
 3. The money order dispenser of claim 2,wherein the clock includes a battery backup system in the event of powerfailures.
 4. The money order dispenser of claim 1, wherein the trackingand recording means within the control terminal tracks and recordmultiple events simultaneously.
 5. The money order dispenser of claim 1,wherein the bit-mapped printer mask within the memory means of theprinter comprises graphical and alphanumeric data.